Palm Springs has timeless appeal

My small group of explorers stands mesmerized as our guide, Bruce Poynter of Big Wheel Tours, hunkers on the desert floor drawing in the sand and explaining how the ancient Cahuilla of Palm Springs performed their "dances of the dead."

"The Cahuilla believed that when you died, your soul remained in limbo for two years until the tribe performed ritual dances. Everyone who had a dead relative brought food and danced and sang for seven days to raise the departed souls on their final journey to the spirit world," he says.

After the ceremony their relatives' names would never be uttered again. The Cahuilla believed that people should live in the present, not the past. And so, finally, does the resort called Palm Springs.

Not only have the nine desert cities that comprise what everyone calls Palm Springs updated and revamped, they've also brought a new vitality to a resort that once thought it was enough to be about golf and tennis and nothing more.

I lived here for six years during the 1980s, a period when Palm Springs was like Gloria Swanson in the film Sunset Boulevard: a has-been living on past glories. Palm Springs badly needed a facelift.

One of the best new things in the desert is the cadre of folks like Poynter who have made visitors aware there's another Palm Springs, a place beyond the golf courses in the mountains and desert, an attraction in itself.

For photographers, there's the intricate play of light on Mount San Jacinto in the range that cradles Palm Springs. There's also great hiking opportunities at Joshua Tree National Park, not to mention challenging rock climbing.

On my last visit, I found Palm Canyon Drive was thick with smart galleries, chic boutiques and visitors checking out the Walk of Stars.

Once-dumpy little hotels had been "rediscovered" and zinged up with a '50s retro look, art deco or a southwestern pueblo theme. New restaurants with first-class chefs were everywhere and upgraded resorts had added spas, more golf courses and all the bells and whistles. The latest revamp, the Hilton Riviera, once a favourite with the Rat Pack and Elvis Presley, opens this fall after a $70-million rejuvenation that includes one of the largest and most exotic spas in the area, five-star dining and scores of other elegant touches.

Much of the change in Palm Springs has come as visionaries started converting the desert playground into a year-round destination by adding special events during the shoulder and summer season. These include an annual tribute to Elvis Presley each August.

In the winter season, the usual celebrity golf tournaments are staged on the best of the area's countless golf courses and there are a multitude of other events including an annual film festival that draws enormous crowds each January, exotic car shows, a festival of lights, arts festivals, Renaissance fairs and jazz festivals.

If You Go:

- BEST BETS FOR SIGHTSEEING: For a bird's-eye view of the desert, the old-time Aerial Tramway whisks you to the top of Mount San Jacinto through five climactic zones, www.pstramway.com. Visitors and photographers shouldn't miss Joshua Tree National Park in the high desert-great for hikers, rock climbers and picnics, www.joshua.tree.national-park.com. Two little-known magical spots are the Painted Canyon and the Seven Sisters (a walk through Murray Canyon to a spot where seven waterfalls spill one into the other.)

- BEST BETS FOR COUPLES: Check into the Lake La Quinta Inn, certainly the most romantic B&B in the Valley and a great place for a honeymoon, www.lakelaquintainn.com, 760-564-7332. For romance galore, dine under the stars in the palm-shaded garden of the classic Le Vallauris, 760-325-5059. Remember the biplane flight in Out of Africa? Take a flight in "Stanley," a 1930 biplane (October to April) call 800-991-2473, www.nostalgicwarbrides.com.

- BEST BETS FOR FAMILIES: Kids love the Wyndham Palm Springs because it has the city's largest pool (www.wyndham.com). The Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa has every service you could want including Camp Hyatt, a great program for kids. www.grandchampions.hyatt.com 800-554-9288. Kids into Mexican food love the burritos and all the activity and patio dining at Las Casuelas Terraza on Palm Canyon Drive. Also try any of the Desert Adventures, the covered wagon rides and the Children's Discovery Museum, 760-321-0602, www.cdmod.org.

- BEST BETS FOR REGIONAL CUISINE: The best indulgence in the desert is a sinfully rich date milkshake in Indio, Calif.

- BEST BETS FOR REGIONAL INDULGENCES: The Willows is probably the most luxurious small hotel in the desert, a restored home that hosted everyone from Clark Gable to Albert Einstein, 800-966-9597. www.willowspalmsprings.com. Another great choice is renting a star's home, 800-590-3110, www.vacationpalmsprings.com. Take a soaring dream flight in a sailplane with an FAA certified commercial pilot. Call 951-658-6577. Follow this up with the Ultimate Parker Experience, a spa treatment to end all others at Le Parker Meridien Palm Springs, ranked one of the top 10 spas in America by Conde Nast Traveler. www.theparkerpalmsprings.com. Finish the day with dinner and sweet ginger creme brulee at Copley's on North Palm Canyon, 760-327-9555.).

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